You're Not So Bad
by alice writes stuff
Summary: The last thing Yao Wang wants is to be stuck next to Ivan Braginsky again. However, when things get complicated at home, he realises this is the least of his worries. As things spiral out of control, he finds himself trusting Ivan more and more. But is this really a good idea?
1. Chapter 1

A.N- This is my second attempt at a multi-chapter fic. Hopefully this one goes better! Also, this is my first go at writing RoChu, so constructive criticism is definitely welcome. I own nothing!

Chapter One

It was the first day of the new school year, and Yao Wang had never been so glad for its arrival. After the chaos of that summer, it was good to get some order, even if it only lasted in school. They'd had to walk, since their father had gone to work early today, taking the car with him. Yao looked at his siblings. Mei seemed happy to be going back, seeing how she was talking so much about seeing her friends. It was wonderful to see her like that. She'd been so quiet the last few weeks. Li looked annoyed about having to go back, but that wasn't really anything new. He'd probably cheer up if and when he saw his best friend, Emil. Turning to Kiku, he saw that his step-brother was doing alright. At least, he looked like he was. Whether or not it was true, that was a different matter entirely. With everything that had been happening lately with their parents, it was completely possible that Kiku could be pretending that he was okay. The sound of the bell brought him back to reality. They all ran into school, fortunately making it just in time. Yao and Kiku went one way, Li and Mei the other, all four making plans to meet up at lunchtime.

By the time Yao and Kiku made it to class, everyone had already chosen their seats. Their teacher this year had chosen to have rows of single desks rather than groups. This wasn't so bad, except for the fact that there were only three empty seats. One was near the back, next to Kiku's friend Heracles. Another was on the far left, next to Basch Zwingli. Basch was alright, just rather quiet. He didn't really speak to anyone except his younger sister, Lili, which he seemed happy with. The last seat was near the centre of the room, next to Ivan Braginsky. Ivan was tall, possibly the tallest kid in their class. He was also quite easily the strangest kid in their class, which, considering the competition, was saying a lot. He always wore a scarf, even in the summer, and not many people liked him, with the exception of his sisters. Still, all of that wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for one little thing. Ivan couldn't seem to leave him alone. He claimed he just wanted to be friends, but Yao wasn't sure he could trust him. Just as he was debating which of his three options was better, Heracles took it upon himself to narrow them down. Raising his hand in a gesture that could easily have been mistaken for a stretch, he called over to Kiku, asking him to come and sit down before the teacher returned from her errand in the office. He sounded calm, relaxed even, despite all the noise their classmates were making. Of course, this was pretty much normal for Heracles. He didn't normally get openly excited, even when cats were involved. It was easy to see how he and Kiku could get on so well. With his brother now seated, Yao decided to try sitting next to Basch. When he got over to the desk, though, a dark blue backpack was resting on the empty chair. Glancing up at him, Basch sighed.

"Not this time, I'm afraid," he didn't look happy to say it.

"Why not? If I don't sit here I'll have to sit next to Ivan, and I don't want to be stuck with him again."

"I know that. Trust me, I'd probably do the same in your case. The thing is, there's a new kid starting today. They're gonna come in and there will be one available seat. They'll either have to sit next to me or Ivan. Personally, I wouldn't mind giving up having a solo desk if it meant they weren't stuck with Ivan. You see?" Yao sighed. He did have a point.

"Okay, I'll do it," he paused. "Do we know anything about the new kid yet?"

"Not really. All I know is that they're some sort of musical genius from Vienna, or somewhere like that," Basch didn't sound too impressed.

"Cool," with that he turned away, figuring the teacher would be back soon, and went to sit down next to Ivan. The taller boy smiled.

"Privet, Yao. Did you have a nice summer?" Yao looked straight ahead. He wasn't going to look at Ivan, no matter what.

"I don't speak Russian, Ivan, we've been over this. Also, my summer was alright," it hadn't really been alright, but that was none of Ivan's business. Ivan opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the door opened. In came their teacher, followed by a boy with dark brown hair- neat except for one random curl sticking up- and glasses, wearing a blazer, shirt and tie, which was unusual. The rest of the class wore dark green jumpers and white polo shirts. Clearly, this was the new kid.

"Class, this is Roderich Edelstein, from Vienna, in Austria," everyone looked at him. Foreign kids weren't unusual in their class, by any means, but they hadn't expected a new one to join at this stage. What if he didn't speak English? Would Gilbert or Ludwig have to translate until he learned? They'd find out soon enough. Maybe eight wasn't too old to fit in somewhere else. As Basch had predicted, the new boy did end up having to sit next to him. It had better be worth it. Glancing at the boy next to him, he sighed again. This was going to be a long year.


	2. Chapter 2

A.N- Here's chapter two! Sorry it took a while, I had problems getting it typed up. In case anyone was wondering, Yao, Ivan and their classmates are in primary four, which is the Scottish version of second grade. Li and Mei are in primary three. I used the Scottish system because it's the one I'm most familiar with. Once again, I own nothing!

The rest of the morning dragged on without too much event. It turned out that Roderich did speak English, and better than anyone expected. However, he still had an accent which sometimes made it difficult to understand what he was saying. Of course, that would probably fade after a while unless he was very stubborn. More than once that morning, Ivan tried to talk to Yao. Often he would ask about the holidays, which Yao wasn't up for discussing with anybody at the moment, least of all Ivan. Sometimes he'd request help with his work, to which the response was always,

"Ask the teacher. I'm too busy to help you," deep down, he knew he was being a bit mean to Ivan. If he was honest, he found the Russian boy a bit intimidating. He'd never admit it, though. It was easier to act like he was annoyed by Ivan than admit he was scared by him. Eventually, the bell for break rang. Yao was just about to get his snack when Ivan spoke up again. What did he want now?

"Would you like to spend break together today?" he sounded friendly enough, but Yao wasn't going to fall for his trick that easily. Besides, even if the taller boy was telling the truth, he wasn't going to spend his first break with Ivan. If that happened, people might end up thinking they were friends. That wasn't going to work at all. If people thought he was friends with Ivan, he might lose all the friends he actually had. With a sigh, he turned to look at Ivan for the first time since he sat down this morning. He needed to put a stop to this now. It felt like they'd had this conversation every day last year. And the year before that, and the year before that. Ivan had to understand that no meant no, sooner rather than later.

"No, Ivan, I don't want to. I'm not going to want to tomorrow, or any day after that, so don't bother asking then either. I'm not your friend, Ivan. You need to leave me alone," with that, he left the room. He didn't look back, not wanting to see Ivan's reaction.

After break, Ivan was silent. He didn't try to talk to Yao once all throughout literacy, even though it was a subject he found difficult. Normally he would've asked for help with something by now. Was everything alright? Normally he wouldn't care, but today he felt guilty, like it was his fault Ivan had gone silent. He turned to face his neighbour, who was staring at his exercise book looking confused. Judging by how much he'd written so far, his English had improved a lot over the summer. Still, he was obviously stuck on something.

"Hey, need a hand?" Ivan frowned at him. Obviously he hadn't been expecting this.

"Why are you talking to me? I thought you said we weren't friends." Yao sighed. He was starting to regret saying what he'd said before break. That was a little bit weird. He wasn't used to regretting things where Ivan was concerned. Unless he counted saying hello to him on the first day of school three years ago. Glancing at Ivan, it was obvious that he was upset and confused, which somehow made Yao feel even worse. Maybe he should apologise.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said before break. I didn't mean to upset you. I was only trying to establish some boundaries," he paused a moment before continuing. "I still don't really consider you my friend. Mainly because I don't know you very well. However, I don't mind talking to you while we're at this desk. If you need help with schoolwork or something, it's okay to ask."

"Really?" Ivan's usual smile was starting to come back. "Thank you. And I'm sorry about break too. I don't really have any friends, and I'd hoped to get some this year. Maybe I've got the wrong idea."

"Maybe. You might be trying too hard. People may not want to be friends with you if you shove the idea down their throats."

"I see. Thanks for telling me that!" he smiled, then paused, looking back at his work. "Um, Yao?"

"Yeah?"

"What does this word mean?" he pointed to a word in his textbook. They were answering questions based on a text, and Ivan had gotten stuck. Determined not to go back on his word so soon, he decided to help Ivan through it.

They continued to work in a comfortable silence until lunchtime. Yao still refused to talk about the holidays, but it didn't take Ivan long to take the hint and stop asking. That was reassuring, since Yao still wasn't up for being that open with Ivan. He was only being polite by talking to the Russian boy from time to time instead of ignoring him completely. When the bell for lunch went, Yao looked around for Kiku. He was still talking to Heracles. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. However, the first day of school was one of the few times his siblings all ate lunch together. It was a tradition, and he couldn't let it break now. He made his way towards the back of the room.

"Hey, Kiku, are you coming to have lunch with Li, Mei and I?"

"Yes, I was just coming," turning to Heracles, Kiku smiled and told him that he'd see him after lunch.

Lunch itself was fairly average. They were all in agreement that being back at school was better than being at home all day. They'd also agreed that talking about summer was a bad idea. If people found out their parents had been fighting... that wouldn't be good. After finishing lunch, Yao spent the rest of his lunch break catching up with his friends. It was so nice to be able to talk to them. Things were normal for the first time in weeks. It was just a shame that wouldn't last.


End file.
